Blue Sky Living

Hidden Places - Club 55

Club 55 The first of an occasional series of hidden places to visit in Provence.

Cote D’Azur afficianados will want to know how Club 55 on St Tropez’s Pamplonne beach could possibly be described as hidden. After-all this is possibly the most photographed beach club in the world. Every summer the pages of celebrity magazines are full of ageing old stars wobbling off boats onto the pontoon and the svelte frames of pretty young actresses being bent double by the gentlest of sea-breezes. Club 55 has been chic since its creation in 1955 and you would have thought that a place frequented through the decades by every celebrity from Bardot to Bono, would be out of reach of the mere mortal. But no, hence the hidden places qualification. You just have to know not to be put off by the reputation. In fact anybody can walk along the beach straight into the wooden shack that serves lunchtime snacks. For the location, the price is reasonable - Spaghetti Bolognese is €12. I hasten to add that this is not the main restaurant but even so as the photo shows we managed to hook up with some beautiful (and not so beautiful) people including a catwalk model who was taller than me.

Editor's blog

Regular readers will know that we’ve committed ourselves to the folly of demolishing an old house and then building a new one. Not content with our rented mas in the heart of the countryside, we’ve fallen prey to the nagging desire of the English to own property. As I’ve mentioned before the objective is for the construction to be finished by April next year and for us to rent out the house in July and August of next year to help pay for it all (see property rental pages of this site).

So far there have been a few delays - the architect was two months late getting the plans prepared and when we finally received them nobody had a clue what the view would be like from the roof terrace. So I asked for a ladder....

Watery cherries and Nasri to Arsenal....

It's been a bad couple of weeks for the football mad Provencaux. First France get knocked out of Euro 2008 and then horror of all horrors, it was announced today that Olympic Marseille are losing their midfield playmaker Samir Nasri to Arsenal. So what you might say?

Holiday makers see Provence in the baking heat of the summer when football is only for the suicidal. Once the heat disappears however OM fever reigns, and it will be a long cold winter without Nasri. So if you meet a grumpy Provencaux this week, now you know why. And don't mention the damage the rain has done to the cherry crop

Editor's blog

English readers will know all about the “leaves on the line” excuse. For the benefit of everyone else every Autumn a nation that built one of the greatest empires in history is unable to run trains thanks to slippery tracks caused by, you guessed it, falling leaves.

I mention this because as a fledgling business man I suffered the Provencal equivalent of the leaves on the line excuse. My advertisers were on the phone demanding to know the whereabouts of Blue Sky Living - well actually I received a polite enquiry from a German estate agent based in L’Isle Sur La Sorgue, - meanwhile the magazines were lost somewhere between Chelmsford in Essex and Lourmarin.

Oi Sarky...

Two months ago the British tabloids fell in love with President Sarkozy's new wife - Carla Bruni. They purred so much over his choice of bride it looked as if a beautiful new relationship had begun. And then today The Sun went and wrecked it all with the classic headline:

"Oi Sarky, we're narky over EU navy malarky"

To help streamline the French naval budget Sarkozy had proposed that the British put aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious at the service of the EU navy. Nelson would turn in his grave, the Sun commented.

The BACS BEGIN

If a grumpy teenager shoves past you in the street, knocks your shopping to the floor and hurries off without a word, don't take it personally. It's exam time in France and even the truck drivers engaged in the fuel protests are bending over backwards to accomodate the students. The implementation of road blocks under the wonderfully named "Operation Escargot" have been delayed by an hour each morning to ensure the students get to their exams. 

Sale of the Century

Half-mediaeval, half-Renaissance, the Château d’Ansouis sits atop one of the most picturesque villages in Provence. Yet, cannon fire and sieges apart, the last year has witnessed the most dramatic events in the castle’s history since the Middle Ages - a very public auction and it being removed from the Sabran-Pontevès family for the first time in almost a thousand years. Jon Bryant investigates….

20 Questions with Peter Mayle

Peter Mayle is the author of eleven books on Provence, including the best selling non-fiction works A Year in Provence and Toujours en Provence. He was recently awarded the Legion d'Honneur by the French government. He lives in Provence with his wife. Tanya Ivey from Blue Sky Living caught up with him.

Luberon and Les Alpilles - June Events

Alphabetical listing by town/village:

CHATEAURENARD

ESCAPADE FÉODALE - (Diverse performances)
les 23 et 24 juin
Au château, en centre-ville et aux arènes

Please email Jamie@blueskylivingmag.com with details of any regional events

Restaurant review - La Petite Maison de Cucuron

Perestrello Geller eats at La Petite Maison:

I had a girlfriend once who had the miraculous ability to be in two or even three places at once. She had long lustrous dark hair and almond eyes which held a glance for a quavering, quivering, indecent second too long.

In the early stages of our relationship she kissed me goodnight at a teasingly early hour and but for her irresistible almond eyes we would have split up when I discovered that she was cramming two dates into the same evening.....